Commentary on the residential real estate market in Saline and the Washtenaw County area.
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Monday, June 2, 2008

Saint Joseph's Statue?

Why do people bury a statue of a Saint in their garden? How could it be nice to a real Saint to bury a statue of him in the ground? These questions inevitably come up when considering the old tradition to bury a statue of Saint Joseph when you want to sell your Saline real estate.

The history behind the tradition to bury a statue of Saint Joseph is hundreds of years old (A.D. 1515 - 1582). It began in Europe when the nuns at a Cloister needed to expand their land, and as a prayer to Saint Joseph, they buried medals of him in the ground. After a short time they found out that their prayers had been heard and they got more land. This old story has lived on until today, but on the tradition has changed from burying medals to burying statues.

When you first heard that a friend sold their house thanks to a statue of Saint Joseph, you may have been confused. Like any other normal person, your first response was likely “No surprise there!” when your friends told you that they had wanted to sell their Saline home for a few months, but no one showed any interest.

That was when they were recommended to try to bury a statue of Saint Joseph by their “For Sale” sign. They felt a little strange burying it, but they also said that they had known many people that had put their faith in God and succeeded, and that history is full of those stories, so why not give it a try? They bought a statue of Saint Joseph, read the instructions, read the prayers, and said that after the ritual was done, they felt relief, and really knew that soon they were about to sell their house. One week later, they were pleased to accept an offer on their house.

Your friends were religious before, but their faith in the Saints and Saint Joseph has surely increased. That little Saint Joseph statue they buried followed them to their new home, and can be seen over the fireplace in the living room. Do they credit the sale to Saint Joseph? For sure, that little statue helped them to get the faith they needed to make the sale. And they did.